A longitudinal analysis of puberty‐related cortical development
Nandita Vijayakumar,
George J. Youssef,
Nicholas B Allen,
Vicki Anderson,
Daryl Efron,
Philip Hazell,
Lisa Mundy,
Jan M Nicholson,
George Patton,
Marc L Seal,
Julian G Simmons,
Sarah Whittle,
Tim Silk
Affiliations
Nandita Vijayakumar
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia; Corresponding author.
George J. Youssef
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Nicholas B Allen
Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Vicki Anderson
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Clinical Sciences Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia; Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Daryl Efron
Health Services, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Philip Hazell
Discipline of Psychiatry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Lisa Mundy
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
Jan M Nicholson
Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
George Patton
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
Marc L Seal
Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
Julian G Simmons
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Sarah Whittle
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Tim Silk
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
The brain undergoes extensive structural changes during adolescence, concurrent to puberty-related physical and hormonal changes. While animal research suggests these biological processes are related to one another, our knowledge of brain development in humans is largely based on age-related processes. Thus, the current study characterized puberty-related changes in human brain structure, by combining data from two longitudinal neuroimaging cohorts. Beyond normative changes in cortical thickness, we examined whether individual differences in the rate of pubertal maturation (or “pubertal tempo”) was associated with variations in cortical trajectories. Participants (N = 192; scans = 366) completed up to three waves of MRI assessments between 8.5 and 14.5 years of age, as well as questionnaire assessments of pubertal stage at each wave. Generalized additive mixture models were used to characterize trajectories of cortical development. Results revealed widespread linear puberty-related changes across much of the cortex. Many of these changes, particularly within the frontal and parietal cortices, were independent of age-related development. Males exhibiting faster pubertal tempo demonstrated greater thinning in the precuneus and frontal cortices than same-aged and -sex peers. Findings suggest that the unique influence of puberty on cortical development may be more extensive than previously identified, and also emphasize important individual differences in the coupling of these developmental processes.
